Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

5-2021

Source Publication

Ibironke T Odumosu-Ayanu & Dwight Newman, eds, Indigenous-Industry Agreements, Natural Resources and the Law (Routledge, 2021)

Abstract

The rise of the duty to consult and accommodate has generated an increase in Indigenous-industry agreements. For proponents tasked with carrying out the procedural aspects of the duty, Indigenous-industry agreements offer relative certainty compared to the ambiguity involved in determining whether the duty has been legally satisfied. For Indigenous peoples, although the drawbacks of Indigenous-industry agreements are well documented, these agreements can potentially instantiate the principle of free, prior and informed consent. Compared to First Nation and Inuit peoples, though, Métis rights-holders are entering into comparatively fewer Indigenous-industry agreements.One cause of this phenomenon is the supposed uncertainty surrounding the question of who are the Métis, which can be divided into three sub-questions: (i) Who qualifies as a Métis rights-holder to whom the duty to consult and accommodate is owed? (ii) How do we determine the geographic scope of the Métis rights-holder? (iii) Who is entitled to represent the Métis rights-holder for the purposes of engaging in consultation about the right?

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